Deaths: Martha Meier, 71, art gallery owner

DEATHS

LYNWOOD ABRAM, Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, July 2, 2005

Martha Meier, who with her late husband, Jack Meier, operated an art gallery showcasing works of local and nationally known painters and sculptors for 30 years, died of cancer Wednesday in her Houston home. She was 71.

Deaths elsewhere

Grammy award winner
Luther Vandross
, whose deep, lush voice on such hits as
Here and Now
and
Any Love
sold more than 25 million albums while providing the romantic backdrop for millions of couples worldwide, July 1 at
John F. Kennedy Medical Center
in Edison, N.J. No cause of death was released but the hospital noted Vandross "never really recovered" from a stroke two years ago. He was 54.
Story,Page A1
.
Renaldo"Obie" Benson
, a member of the legendary Motown singing group the Four Tops, July 1 at a
Detroit hospital
. He was 69.
ArnoldRosenfeld
, former editor of the Austin American-Statesman, July 1 in an Atlanta-area hospital. He was 72.
Richard"Doc" Brown
, an expert in the safety of amusement park rides, June 23 after suffering a severe head injury in a fall at his Huntington Beach, Calif., home, his family said. He was 64.
EdChopot
, who grew up poor before becoming a multimillionaire high-stakes gambler, was found slain in Costa Rica. He was 76.
AlexeiSultanov
, a concert pianist who won the gold-medal at the 1989 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition when he was still a teenager, but whose career was interrupted by multiple strokes, July 1 at his Fort Worth home. He was 35.